A modern angel sculpture gets ready to soar to the heavens in the cloister of the old St. Hilaire abbey, birthplace of sparkling wine. I framed the angel in the bursting water jets of the cloister's nearby fountain to symbolize and celebrate this momentous occasion.

The monks here beat out Dom Perignon and his Champagne crew by over 100 years, first making bubbly around 1531. I uncorked a more recent Brut while there and soon I too was ready for takeoff.